No! I'm not talking about that kind of blockage. I'm talking about creative blockage! Over time I have come to realize it was no coincidence that the period when I was least fit, least healthy and least happy, was the precise period in time when I felt least creative.
"In the twenty-five years I have taught creative unblocking, one of the tools I routinely teach is daily morning writing. How often have I seen my students use their Morning Pages to shed pounds as well as creative inhibitions? Although in an Artist's Way class what we are after is a creative renaissance, a physical renaissance often goes with it, hand in glove." ~ Julia Cameron, The Writing Diet
As I've mentioned before, as a child I craved the artistic life of a painter or choreographer, but because I wasn't "gifted" with these talents at birth, I figured I was doomed to a life of drudgery. When, at the age of 16, I stumbled into a job at a fabric store, I discovered that sewing--coordinating colors and fabrics, accessorizing and creating ensembles--was one thing creative that I could do. So that's how I ended up majoring in Textiles and Fashion Merchandising at UT.
Career plans got sidetracked when we married and moved overseas the minute I graduated. Then the kids came along, and for many years, they were my creative focus. When we moved back to Indonesia, with them in tow, it took all kinds of creative energy just to keep them happy, well-fed, and entertained, with the minimal resources at hand.
By the time we moved back home, the kids were older, and much more independent. However, life experience had left me disenchanted with my original career goals. Somehow, I could no longer wrap my head around an industry whose sole purpose was to convince people each season that those perfectly good clothes in their closet were no longer acceptable, and must be replaced with whatever is new and hot! That left me with no creative outlets at all, and my weight began to creep up. Then, along came Anna Marie Mootz - initially, a source of deep despair for me, but ultimately, my savior.
Anna Marie was a woman I really wanted to hate, but just couldn't. Not only was she a talented architect, whose own house made me completely rethink what I wanted in a home, she was also an amazing painter, photographer, interior designer, entertainer and writer. As if that wasn't enough, she was in the process of becoming a garden designer as well. It just wasn't fair! How could one person be gifted with so many talents, while I was left with nothing at all? Eventually, she taught me that design was design, and those same eyes that helped me coordinate fabrics and ensembles could easily be trained to do other things as well. She also dragged me along to some landscaping classes being offered locally, since it was obvious I didn't have a clue what to do with our new yard and, well, the rest is history!
Thanks to a couple of good books by Sarah ban Breathnach and Julia Cameron, and some wonderful mentoring from Susan Wittig Albert and the Story Circle Network, I now have all kinds of creative energy flowing through me. And there you have it. The final, but by far the most critical step towards Good Life Health and Fitness, is to feel the spirit move you, turn on the switch, go with the flow. Just remember, in the words of George Eliot, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." Yee-Haw!
"...but you must understand there is nothing noble in failing to discover and cultivate your pleasures. (It will make you not only fat but grouchy.) You owe it to your loved ones as well as yourself to know and pursue your pleasures." ~ Mireille Guiliano, French Women Don't Get Fat
Career plans got sidetracked when we married and moved overseas the minute I graduated. Then the kids came along, and for many years, they were my creative focus. When we moved back to Indonesia, with them in tow, it took all kinds of creative energy just to keep them happy, well-fed, and entertained, with the minimal resources at hand.
By the time we moved back home, the kids were older, and much more independent. However, life experience had left me disenchanted with my original career goals. Somehow, I could no longer wrap my head around an industry whose sole purpose was to convince people each season that those perfectly good clothes in their closet were no longer acceptable, and must be replaced with whatever is new and hot! That left me with no creative outlets at all, and my weight began to creep up. Then, along came Anna Marie Mootz - initially, a source of deep despair for me, but ultimately, my savior.
Anna Marie was a woman I really wanted to hate, but just couldn't. Not only was she a talented architect, whose own house made me completely rethink what I wanted in a home, she was also an amazing painter, photographer, interior designer, entertainer and writer. As if that wasn't enough, she was in the process of becoming a garden designer as well. It just wasn't fair! How could one person be gifted with so many talents, while I was left with nothing at all? Eventually, she taught me that design was design, and those same eyes that helped me coordinate fabrics and ensembles could easily be trained to do other things as well. She also dragged me along to some landscaping classes being offered locally, since it was obvious I didn't have a clue what to do with our new yard and, well, the rest is history!
Thanks to a couple of good books by Sarah ban Breathnach and Julia Cameron, and some wonderful mentoring from Susan Wittig Albert and the Story Circle Network, I now have all kinds of creative energy flowing through me. And there you have it. The final, but by far the most critical step towards Good Life Health and Fitness, is to feel the spirit move you, turn on the switch, go with the flow. Just remember, in the words of George Eliot, "It's never too late to be what you might have been." Yee-Haw!
"...but you must understand there is nothing noble in failing to discover and cultivate your pleasures. (It will make you not only fat but grouchy.) You owe it to your loved ones as well as yourself to know and pursue your pleasures." ~ Mireille Guiliano, French Women Don't Get Fat
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